College football getting interesting


 
I'm an old Big 8 guy. I hated it when Neb, Colo, Mizzou left. But its the same issue that caused the formation of the Big 12 in 1996. Its TV money and there's not very many TV sets in Oklahoma, Kansas. And those in Iowa are watching the Hawkeyes.

I understand negotiations of an extension of the current contract with ESPN and Fox were not going well for the Big 12. Writing was on the wall.
 
I think all the conferences should realign. How about 8 conferences with 16 teams in each with 2 divisions in each conference. Playoff game in each for conference champion. Conference champs playoff. We have a real champion and no voting committee. Only controversy will be the seeding for playoff.
 
I also miss the Big 8 days, and think MIZZOU got in a little over their heads joining the SEC.
My OK niece and her husband are OSU fans, but their 2 sons went to OU. Lots of family rivalry there, all in fun of course.
 
Bob Correll said:
I also miss the Big 8 days, and think MIZZOU got in a little over their heads joining the SEC.
My OK niece and her husband are OSU fans, but their 2 sons went to OU. Lots of family rivalry there, all in fun of course.
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Mizzou was over their heads in the Big 12 but did really well the first couple seasons in the SEC. When I went to The Ohio State University, we were OSU. Guess nobody trademarked that.
 
The Sooners will have to step up their recruiting of defensive players. Being in the SEC should help that. There will be an adjustment period.

IDK what will happen to the rest of the Big 12. They had a meeting today at 5pm and OU and Texas were not in on the tele-conference. I think this is a done deal , that they're leaving.
 
Yeah, the Big 12 is history, if this happens. But I think OU and Texas are leaving even if its not for the SEC. For the rest of the Big 12, they're in a big game of musical chairs and some are gonna get left out.

PAC 12 might have an interest in the Texas schools and OSU. Big 10 might have an interest in Iowa St or Kansas or both.
 
I'm an Aggie. A lot of the fans are freaking out about this because we've had such an easy time recruiting in Texas since we joined the SEC. I really miss the old Big 12 or even the Southwest Conference days. Every game we were playing a school just down the road and the in state rivalries were fierce and fun. Those days are largely gone. I'd like to see the Aggies and Longhorns play every year again.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I'm an Aggie. A lot of the fans are freaking out about this because we've had such an easy time recruiting in Texas since we joined the SEC. I really miss the old Big 12 or even the Southwest Conference days. Every game we were playing a school just down the road and the in state rivalries were fierce and fun. Those days are largely gone. I'd like to see the Aggies and Longhorns play every year again.
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Jimbo can recruit against the best of them. He did at my alma mater until his wife screwed everything up and he mentally checked out of the job. Still amazing to me he got $75 mill guaranteed considering the state he left us in. He’s a helluva coach though. I’ll never forget listening to his post game interviews and him reeling off game stats like a savant. As fast as he was talking, there’s no way he was reading.
 
Honestly, this re-kindles my interest in college football. I was an OU season ticket holder for about 25 years. I gave them up a few years ago. Sitting at home on Saturday, watching games from 11 am to 9 pm , eating my own food, drinking my own beer ....... that looked better than 4 hours standing up in the stadium. And my old legs had trouble with that.

The competition in the SEC is gonna be a struggle, but I enjoy the struggle. I got my first season tickets in the early 90's, when OU was headed into down years. Watching them go from losing seasons to a National Championship in 2000, made it all the more enjoyable. Maybe I'm spoiled now by a lot of winning, but it will be more interesting.
 
One thing we know...they know how to increase revenue. Which leads me to ask, is this best for 'student' athletes? Is this best for the fans? Is this best for the schools?

I know, wrong questions to ask. I'll go quietly back to supporting my TN Vols, maybe there are a few victories for us this year.
 
Steve Petrone said:
One thing we know...they know how to increase revenue. Which leads me to ask, is this best for 'student' athletes? Is this best for the fans? Is this best for the schools?

I know, wrong questions to ask. I'll go quietly back to supporting my TN Vols, maybe there are a few victories for us this year.
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No one asked those questions when Nebraska and Colorado left the Big 12. Nor when Missouri or A&M left shortly after. Or when the Big 10 or PAC 12 expanded.

What OU and Texas have done is just a culmination of everything that's happened to this point.

Its all about the money, specifically TV money. It actually started back in the 80's when OU and Georgia won their law suit against the NCAA , that gave them control over their TV rights. At the same time ESPN began to grow.

Then in 1992, the SEC expanded bringing in Arkansas and South Carolina, and they boosted TV ratings.

The old Big 8 had a very weak TV market due to being among lightly populated states, and they were forced to merge with the old SWC and form the Big 12 in 1996.

It was about TV money then, its about TV money now.

And then the players being able to profit from " name, image, likeness " .............. and what's that about " student athlete " ?

Frankly, I don't know what to think about this. But I'm an old fart, and unlike young people, I don't readily want change. But I think OU and Texas had their hand forced here, or be left out entirely.
 
Here's another new aspect to this, one that I'm not near smart enough or have access to enough data to know how much this played into what we're seeing ........... but people are changing how they watch TV. Streaming is going to impact the deals the conferences make with TV.

The DVR set off the first big wave of conference realignment before 2010. When people were given the ability to fast forward through commercials, then live TV programming became super powerful. Advertisers would pay a huge premium for live sports. So ESPN and Fox began paying huge sums to conferences for their TV rights. ESPN was making huge profits when this was coupled with the cable bundle, that they could force on cable companies, and then cable could force everyone to subscribe, sports fan or non sports fans.

Streaming is disrupting all of that. ESPN's cable bundle will be gone. And its again changing how people watch TV. I wish I could see all the consequences this is gonna create, but its above my pay grade .

https://twitter.com/x/status/1422522895335624704
 
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